"This is no ordinary rooftop – it's our family's very own 'sunshine passbook'!" said Chen Sosheng, a villager from Shenjiazhuang Village, Baishu Town, Chongxin County, Gansu Province, at the end of 2022, as he happily did the math while gazing at the dark blue solar panels on his rooftop. His home has 21 panels, and over three years, the system has run for over 4,100 full hours, generated 46,000 kWh of electricity, and brought in more than 14,000 yuan in revenue.

In 2022, stories like Chen's were unfolding on millions of ordinary rooftops across China – both residential and commercial. Rooftop distributed photovoltaics (PV) swept across the country at an unprecedented pace. According to data from the China Photovoltaic Industry Association, new PV installations in China reached 87.41 GW in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 59.3%. Among these, distributed PV added 51.1 GW, up 74.5% year-on-year, accounting for over 50% of total new capacity for the second consecutive year. Data released by the National Energy Administration on February 17, 2023, further clarified that residential distributed PV added 25.25 GW in 2022, up 17.3% year-on-year. By the end of 2022, the cumulative installed capacity of residential PV in China reached about 67 GW, with approximately 1.012 million new households added that year, bringing the total number of installed households to about 3.446 million.

1. Residential Rooftop PV: Ordinary Families Join the "Sunshine Income" Wave

In 2022, residential PV entered its first full year of grid parity. Without the stimulus of subsidies, the market not only failed to cool down but maintained a relatively high growth rate. Looking at monthly distribution, new installations were more balanced throughout the year, without the concentrated rush at year-end seen in the past. Quarterly installations were 2.55 GW (Q1), 6.36 GW (Q2), 7.68 GW (Q3), and 8.66 GW (Q4), with steady growth from April to December.

Regionally, the residential PV market in 2022 remained concentrated in the northern provinces of Henan, Hebei, and Shandong. The share of these three provinces nationwide dropped from 77% in 2020 to 64%. Henan became the province with the largest new installed capacity. Meanwhile, provinces such as Anhui, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Fujian, Shanxi, Hunan, and Guangdong ranked in the top ten, accounting for 95% of new capacity – a clear trend of the residential PV market shifting to southern regions like East and South China.

Concrete real-life examples show how rooftop PV is bringing tangible benefits to more and more farming families. At the end of 2022, Wei Peigeng, a villager in Pingchang Weijia Village, Chaoshui Town, Yantai Huang-Bohai New Area, Shandong Province, opened his mobile app to see: "Today's generation: 26.7 kWh, income: 10.41 yuan." He did the math: "That's over 10,000 yuan a year. Where else can you find such a good deal?" This project is part of the distributed solar power generation initiative promoted by the Pingchang Weijia Village Party Branch Leading Cooperative. Phase I has a capacity of 187 kW; once grid-connected, it is expected to increase the village collective's annual income by about 100,000 yuan.

In Biheng Town, Qinglong County, Guizhou Province, villager Wu Kunming's 16 rooftop panels have been grid-connected for four years, bringing him nearly 12,000 yuan in "sunshine wealth" – about 3,000 yuan per year. "I used to buy electricity; now I sell it. I can enjoy the dividends of solar power right from my home," Wu said. He calculated that the panels generate about 17 kWh per day, and the initial investment will be recouped in just a few years, leaving more than 20 years of "profit period."

In Qian'an City, Hebei Province, villager Wu Baoli chose a different path. Instead of investing his own money or selling electricity, he rented out his rooftop for panel installation. "At 6 yuan per square meter, renting out my rooftop brings in 2,400 yuan a year – like a stable pension," Wu said with a smile, calling it "planting sunshine."

2. From "Forced Installation" to "Willing Installation": Diverse Models Drive Residential PV Adoption

In 2022, the business models for residential PV matured significantly. Ordinary people no longer needed to invest tens of thousands of yuan upfront – more flexible options became available. From cooperative development to rooftop leasing, from "PV loans" to one-stop solutions, the barriers to entry for households were lowered to a minimum.

In Nanzhan Street, Wenshang County, Jining City, Shandong Province, Sister Sun became the first household to have her system grid-connected under the cooperative development model of JinkoSolar's residential brand "Jinko Power." This product offers a 25-year cooperative development model: the homeowner provides the rooftop, the company finances the construction, and the homeowner receives fixed annual income – no capital pressure, no financing, no loan. Sister Sun said, "Over the 25-year period, our family will get an extra 3,000 yuan per year, and we don't have to worry about later operation and maintenance." On Nanzhan Street, besides Sister Sun, many other farmers have achieved batch grid-connection through "Jinko Power," with more than 800 households still waiting for design and installation.

In Laikeng Village, Banshi Town, Anyuan County, Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province, villager Liu Xiaokun chose the solar sunroom offered by CHINT Anneng. Previously, a traditional sunroom would have cost over 20,000 yuan, which his elderly parents considered too expensive. When he learned about CHINT Anneng's product – "no upfront cost and an annual income of thousands" – he immediately signed up. After the 50-panel "Taiyangfang" (Solar Room) began stable operation, it not only brought in income but also turned the cement-roofed top floor into a comfortable, energy-saving space – cool in summer, warm in winter. Chen Peng, CHINT Anneng's agent in Ganzhou, explained: "Currently, we mainly promote the cooperative development model in Ganzhou. CHINT Anneng fully funds the construction, from design and exploration to construction and later O&M. The homeowner doesn't need to pay anything."

In Lanxi Town, Shanghang County, Longyan City, Fujian Province, 66-year-old Wen Cheng'an is also delighted with his PV sunroom. In rural Fujian, a sunroom would cost at least 20,000 yuan, but this "golden rooftop" cost him nothing and adds a stable annual income. "For me, this income is like a pension that will continue for more than 20 years," Wen said. Wu Quanlong, General Manager of Longyan GuangRui New Energy Technology Co., said engineers customize plans for each house based on local sunshine and snow/wind loads to maximize power generation and revenue. Currently, more than 200 households in Lanxi Town alone have installed CHINT Anneng's PV sunrooms.

In Hengdong County, Hunan Province, Deng Zhengfu of Hequan Village looked at the sunroom on his rooftop and happily said, "A golden phoenix has landed on my roof – making money just by soaking up the sun!" His rooftop system has a total capacity of 32 kW. In Shijin Village, just three kilometers away, villager Yin Xuecheng installed 70 panels on his flat roof, with a total capacity of 41.65 kW. Besides electricity revenue, he also enjoys the benefits of a sunroom that keeps his home warm in winter and cool in summer.

In June 2022, LONGi Green Energy launched the industry's first one-stop residential PV solution, "LONGi Sunflower." Led by LONGi, in partnership with major banks and branded distributors, it provides a full-process, one-stop solution for residential rooftop PV. LONGi Chairman Zhong Baoshen noted, "In recent years, the form of distributed PV has been changing, but excessive middlemen have meant that homeowners haven't benefited as much as they should." The new solution is designed to address this pain point. LONGi data shows that for a user in Liaoning Province, for example, a 21 kW residential power station, selling all electricity to the grid, could generate an estimated net profit of over 150,000 yuan over 25 years.

3. Commercial & Industrial Rooftop PV: A "Cost-Reduction Tool" for Green Transformation

If residential rooftop PV allows ordinary families to enjoy sunshine income, then C&I rooftop PV has become an important tool for businesses to reduce costs, increase efficiency, and drive green transformation. In the first three quarters of 2022, new C&I distributed PV capacity reached 18.74 GW, a year-on-year increase of 296%, accounting for 53% of all distributed installations. Despite persistently high module prices, the profitability of C&I distributed PV became even more pronounced.

In Chongxin County, Gansu Province, the factory rooftop of Chongxin Anre Thermal Power Co., Ltd. is covered with dark blue solar panels. Previously, the company's annual electricity consumption was 7.8 million kWh, with electricity costs accounting for nearly 20% of operating expenses. After building a 397 kW distributed PV system, it generates an average of 476,000 kWh annually. Part of that is used internally, saving about 53,000 yuan in electricity costs each year.

In the field of building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), a major development came from the LONGi-Senite partnership. In the first three quarters of 2022, LONGi Senite's contract volume exceeded the total BIPV market volume of the previous 20 years. In terms of single-project scale, Senite won a bid for a rooftop distributed PV project at Shandong Heavy Industry Group's subsidiaries, with a scale of 140 MW and a project value as high as 799 million yuan – making it the largest single BIPV project in China to date. Meanwhile, in Nan'an City, Quanzhou City, Fujian Province, a 10.397 MW rooftop distributed PV project at Jingyi Youpin Ceramics Co., Ltd. – invested in by Quanzhou LONGi Senite New Energy Technology Co. – was formally registered. Using a BIPV design, the project is expected to generate 10.8272 million kWh annually.

In Jiangdu District, Jiangsu Province, a district-wide rooftop distributed PV project was officially launched in August 2022. With a total investment of 1 billion yuan, the project is led by the Jiangdu District Government, with participation from Yangzhou Longchuan Holding Group, China Three Gorges Corporation's Jiangsu Energy Investment Co., and LONGi Green Energy. The three parties jointly established the Three Gorges Longchuan Comprehensive Energy Co., Ltd. to handle investment, development, and O&M. The project aims to design and build on various rooftop types – government buildings, public buildings, C&I rooftops, and residential roofs – with a target of adding over 581.3 MW of clean energy capacity and generating about 600 million kWh annually by 2025.

4. Benchmark Demonstration: Kunming Administrative Center Creates a "Low-Carbon Government" Model

In 2022, rooftop distributed PV expanded beyond homes and businesses to government office buildings. On October 27, 2022, the Kunming Municipal Administrative Center's distributed PV demonstration project was successfully completed, becoming the largest rooftop distributed PV project on government buildings in Yunnan Province and setting a benchmark for low-carbon government buildings nationwide.

Known as the "Spring City," Kunming enjoys 2,100–2,300 annual sunshine hours and about 1,300 usable hours, making it naturally advantageous for solar PV. The project is located on the rooftops of 12 buildings at the Kunming Municipal Administrative Center, with a total installed capacity of 1.46 MW and covering about 20,000 square meters of rooftop space. The project was invested in by China Resources Power Holdings Co., with a complete solution provided by Huawei Digital Power and design by PowerChina Kunming Engineering Corporation. It took only 47 days from project initiation to grid connection.

The project operates under a "self-generation, self-use with surplus to grid" model. On weekdays, the PV generation can be fully consumed on-site, with self-use accounting for more than 95% of total generation. According to estimates, the average annual generation is 1.865 million kWh, saving 644 tons of standard coal and reducing CO₂ emissions by 1,561 tons each year – significant energy-saving and environmental benefits.

Technologically, the project uses Huawei's latest smart PV inverters and optimizers. Each module works independently without affecting others. Modules affected by shadowing are boosted by optimizers, so they do not impact the normal operation of other modules in the string, effectively eliminating issues like hotspots and other instabilities. This ensures power quality, reliability, and safety while further increasing system generation. The project not only delivers substantial social and economic benefits but also serves as an important reference and model for distributed PV projects on government buildings, hospitals, schools, and development zones across Kunming's districts and counties.